Bangladesh Captain Litton Das Demands Death Bowling Fix Ahead of T20 World Cup

Litton Das, the captain of the Bangladesh T20I team, emphasized the need for improvement in their death over bowling. This statement comes as the team gears up for the T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in India and Sri Lanka early next year.

Bangladesh celebrates back-to-back T20I series victories © AFP

Under Litton's leadership, Bangladesh recently secured consecutive T20I series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Despite this success, Litton has urged the bowling unit to focus on enhancing their performance in the crucial final overs.

"We are bowling very well with the new ball, but we need to do well in the death overs. The team believes the same," Litton stated after the series victory against Pakistan. "Obviously, we have to bat well because when you are continuously batting well in good wickets, the bowlers have more chances to win the match."

Litton acknowledged the potential of Mustafizur Rahman in the death overs, while also highlighting the importance of other bowlers stepping up their game in preparation for the World Cup. "We all know how deadly Mustafizur can be in the death overs, but for the others this, it is the time to improve in this area ahead of the World Cup. If that happens, we will improve as a team."

He also stressed the need to continue the existing rotation policy for pace bowlers to minimize the risk of injuries to key players such as Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, and Mustafizur Rahman before the major tournament.

"Taskin has returned to T20s after a long time. You probably all know that if he keeps playing continuously, the chances of injury are higher for him," Litton explained. "The same goes for Shoriful - he had a groin injury during the Pakistan series (at their own backyard) and then again in Kandy, and even in Dambulla he faced similar problems."

Litton emphasized the significance of managing player workload and fitness, considering the availability of other talented pace bowlers in the squad. "It's not just that - you have to understand how many games a player can handle in a row. Apart from the ones you see now in the Bangladesh team, there are two or three more top pace bowlers. If we lose any of them for any reason, then the dreams and hopes we have won't be fulfilled. Every player deserves an opportunity, but at the same time, their fitness must be carefully monitored."

Regarding the middle-order batting, Litton expressed confidence in the current players while also acknowledging the need to prepare backup options.

"I believe that (Towhid) Hridoy, the way he bats, along with Jaker (Ali) and Shamim (Patowary), they are currently Bangladesh's best middle-order batters," he said. "At the same time, since our vision is related to the World Cup, if one of these three players gets injured, then we must have backups ready. So, this is always on our mind, and we will try to prepare someone accordingly."

Following a busy period of cricket, the Bangladeshi players are set to take a break before regrouping for a camp to prepare for the upcoming Asia Cup, which had its home series against India rescheduled.